Park Board · Monday, February 22, 2021 · City Council Digest

1. CALL TO ORDER

Membership

2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Minutes of January 25, 2021

packet pp.3–26

Open packet at p.3 ↗

Staff report:

• Project framework • Infill Information •

4. REGULAR BUSINESS

Hillside Park & Blackberry Park - Project & Public Engagement Update

Director · 60 min · Jeff Watling, Parks and Community Services

Topics: Parks

▶ Watch from 2:29

5. REPORTS

Chairperson's Report

▶ Watch from 58:54

Director's Report

▶ Watch from 1:06:01

Youth Report

▶ Watch from 1:13:09

2105 segments .txt ↗

0:04 ↗ okay good evening everyone

0:06 ↗ let's make call call call to order here

0:08 ↗ for our meeting of uh

0:10 ↗ february 22nd 2021

0:17 ↗ so with that

0:20 ↗ i'm gonna start tonight with a roll call

0:24 ↗ so when i call your name if you could

0:26 ↗ please unmute if you're muted

0:28 ↗ and just acknowledge your presence

0:31 ↗ uh reuben

0:36 ↗ uh jonathan present

0:41 ↗ chris president

0:45 ↗ uh jeremy

0:48 ↗ jeremy uh unmute and just say hello you

0:58 ↗ with us jeremy

1:00 ↗ i got a thumbs up from jeremy uh

1:03 ↗ danielle

1:06 ↗ danielle here thank you

1:10 ↗ and that covers all of us here so far

1:12 ↗ this evening

1:14 ↗ uh i'm going to start with the minutes

1:16 ↗ everybody have an opportunity to review

1:18 ↗ minutes

1:20 ↗ oh but i think i figured out the mute

1:21 ↗ button there we go

1:24 ↗ any uh comments questions about uh

1:27 ↗ last month's uh minutes

1:32 ↗ not seeing anything i'm gonna

1:35 ↗ change this out around a little bit

1:37 ↗ nowadays rather than voting on it

1:38 ↗ i'm just going to say are there any

1:40 ↗ objections to minutes from

1:42 ↗ our january meeting

1:46 ↗ i'm not seeing any objections so the

1:49 ↗ minutes

1:49 ↗ are hereby approved thank you for that

1:57 ↗ uh our next section is public comments

1:59 ↗ i'm not actually seeing

2:00 ↗ anyone with us from the community here

2:03 ↗ this evening

2:05 ↗ and uh jeff have you received any emails

2:08 ↗ or anyone

2:08 ↗ from the community that wanted to make a

2:12 ↗ comment

2:13 ↗ uh thanks brad no public comments

2:16 ↗ given to me uh in regards to park board

2:18 ↗ meeting tonight okay

2:20 ↗ public comments are closed

2:25 ↗ uh so we really only have one um

2:29 ↗ regular business item this evening

2:31 ↗ covering two areas which is going to be

2:32 ↗ hillside park and blackberry park

2:35 ↗ uh project uh update on that

2:38 ↗ we're actually having some public

2:40 ↗ engagement coming up here later this

2:42 ↗ week on that

2:44 ↗ so jeff it looks like uh this is your

2:48 ↗ show will take this item

2:51 ↗ uh thanks brad good evening everyone um

2:54 ↗ yeah we uh as you know as we've reviewed

2:57 ↗ our 2021 work plan

2:59 ↗ um these two projects are high priority

3:03 ↗ for city council and mayor as they

3:06 ↗ adopted the 2021 budget

3:09 ↗ both involve primarily play areas

3:13 ↗ one at hillside park really stemming

3:17 ↗ from

3:18 ↗ some extensive public engagement in 2014

3:20 ↗ and then

3:21 ↗ um as well blackberry park which is a

3:24 ↗ relatively new

3:26 ↗ uh park to the city of issaquah was

3:29 ↗ transferred from king county in 2017.

3:31 ↗ i thought tonight would be a great

3:33 ↗ opportunity before we even have our

3:36 ↗ public engagement

3:38 ↗ just to have a discussion and share with

3:41 ↗ you the approach

3:42 ↗ that we're taking to these projects and

3:44 ↗ also the approach that we're taking

3:46 ↗ uh to our neighborhood engagement effort

3:48 ↗ um

3:49 ↗ what i thought i'd do is give you all a

3:52 ↗ sneak peek

3:52 ↗ to the presentations that we're going to

3:54 ↗ be giving

3:56 ↗ on wednesday night wednesday night the

3:58 ↗ 24th for those

4:00 ↗ in the audience that are listening we

4:01 ↗ have a webex

4:03 ↗ virtual meeting for hillside park

4:07 ↗ and then the next evening thursday night

4:09 ↗ the 25th of february

4:11 ↗ we have a webex virtual meeting in

4:14 ↗ regards to blackberry park

4:15 ↗ so i'm going to try and be tech savvy

4:18 ↗ here and share

4:18 ↗ my screen i'd love a thumbs up once i

4:23 ↗ do this are you all seeing a

4:27 ↗ hillside park play area photo

4:30 ↗ yep great

4:34 ↗ all right so um like i said

4:37 ↗ uh i think this is really a fun chance

4:40 ↗ to share with you

4:42 ↗ um approach that we're taking um i i

4:44 ↗ believe i

4:45 ↗ i shared in january that uh we've gone

4:47 ↗ through a selection process we've

4:49 ↗ selected

4:50 ↗ uh methune architects um as our

4:53 ↗ consultant team to help us with this

4:55 ↗ we've been working

4:56 ↗ with them on site analysis

5:01 ↗ the historical just materials

5:04 ↗ community outreach we've heard from both

5:06 ↗ of these parks

5:08 ↗ as well as really looking at and taking

5:10 ↗ a newer approach to

5:12 ↗ play in these park spaces and and and

5:15 ↗ play areas

5:16 ↗ um like i said these are our

5:18 ↗ presentations that we're going to share

5:20 ↗ uh with the community i'll go over

5:22 ↗ hillside park first and then

5:24 ↗ open it up for just feedback and

5:27 ↗ and questions um and thoughts that you

5:31 ↗ all might have

5:32 ↗ uh these both these projects are similar

5:34 ↗ and that we're looking at players but i

5:36 ↗ think what you'll find is that

5:38 ↗ the sites themselves have some real

5:41 ↗ unique elements

5:42 ↗ and unique um

5:46 ↗ discussions that we want to have with

5:47 ↗ the community so

5:49 ↗ hillside park first both evenings mayor

5:51 ↗ paulie will be joining us so she'll

5:54 ↗ open up with some comments and a welcome

5:56 ↗ to the to the community

5:58 ↗ my goal in sharing all this info with

6:00 ↗ you tonight is not necessarily to get

6:02 ↗ your

6:04 ↗ feedback on the questions we're going to

6:05 ↗ be asking but really

6:07 ↗ um or the questions themselves but

6:09 ↗ really just the the format and flow

6:11 ↗ um and what you think of this the agenda

6:15 ↗ for

6:15 ↗ the evening particularly hillside park

6:19 ↗ will be

6:20 ↗ really starting with the 2014 feedback

6:22 ↗ we heard from the community that that

6:24 ↗ will really

6:24 ↗ serve as the baseline uh for and is

6:28 ↗ serving for the baseline

6:29 ↗ of the project here at hillside park uh

6:32 ↗ we'll also spend some time talking about

6:34 ↗ the site analysis and the environmental

6:36 ↗ conditions that we're

6:38 ↗ aware of then we'll talk about citing

6:41 ↗ options

6:42 ↗ based upon that initial site analysis

6:46 ↗ and environmental conditions

6:48 ↗ uh we'll then talk quite a bit about

6:52 ↗ play

6:52 ↗ and and what play means and um go

6:55 ↗ through a series

6:56 ↗ of questions and community feedback

6:59 ↗ we'll be using

7:00 ↗ some technology where we can get some

7:02 ↗ real-time feedback

7:03 ↗ that night as to

7:06 ↗ um experience character

7:09 ↗ how do we best blend this player into

7:12 ↗ the natural environment there at

7:14 ↗ hillside park

7:15 ↗ what you'll see in the presentation is

7:17 ↗ we'll be certainly reinforcing that idea

7:20 ↗ we're going to talk with the community

7:23 ↗ about

7:24 ↗ um sort of different polling links and

7:27 ↗ opportunities we're going to have

7:29 ↗ while the meeting is going on i'll also

7:32 ↗ note we'll share

7:33 ↗ both evenings we're going to be

7:34 ↗ recording each of these meetings

7:37 ↗ and giving the community an opportunity

7:40 ↗ over the next week

7:42 ↗ to watch um and to provide their

7:44 ↗ feedback from us

7:45 ↗ so uh we we thought that was really

7:48 ↗ important to

7:48 ↗ not only get live feedback that night

7:50 ↗ but then through

7:52 ↗ really recording uh the event give

7:54 ↗ opportunity for

7:56 ↗ other neighbors community members that

7:58 ↗ aren't able to attend

7:59 ↗ to give us feedback as well so they'll

8:01 ↗ be a mix of utilizing the chat box we'll

8:03 ↗ have some polling live

8:04 ↗ chat polling going on as well as another

8:08 ↗ tool called

8:08 ↗ mentimeter uh

8:11 ↗ as the agenda says we're going to dive

8:14 ↗ into talking about analysis

8:16 ↗ and in regards to hillside park uh

8:18 ↗ really that analysis starts with

8:20 ↗ the 24 teen community

8:23 ↗ feedback and discussion that we had uh

8:26 ↗ specific to the play area there was a

8:28 ↗ real interest in a play area

8:30 ↗ um more natural play

8:34 ↗ and and materials uh that really blend

8:36 ↗ into the environment and

8:38 ↗ blend into the really the aesthetic of

8:40 ↗ hillside park

8:41 ↗ um these gorgeous you see the photo here

8:44 ↗ tall

8:44 ↗ cedar trees um and and really that that

8:48 ↗ meadow forest and meadow feel

8:50 ↗ um how do we create play that that

8:52 ↗ really blends into that

8:53 ↗ it doesn't interfere or take away from

8:57 ↗ current features of the park circulation

9:00 ↗ was another

9:01 ↗ theme that that we'll go over

9:04 ↗ in terms of trails accessibility

9:09 ↗ view and surveillance into the into

9:10 ↗ these areas

9:12 ↗ some drainage issues that existed within

9:14 ↗ the field so just reinforcing what we

9:15 ↗ heard in 2014 is the starting point

9:18 ↗ and then you'll see as i go through

9:20 ↗ these presentations these opportunities

9:22 ↗ for chat will really be queuing up the

9:24 ↗ community

9:25 ↗ uh to provide us any other info in this

9:28 ↗ case

9:28 ↗ you know what's missing or or have

9:31 ↗ priorities changed

9:33 ↗ for the individuals that are listening

9:36 ↗ in

9:37 ↗ we'll spend some time highlighting the

9:38 ↗ project focus in this case it really is

9:41 ↗ looking at play and how to incorporate a

9:43 ↗ play area a rightly scaled

9:46 ↗ play area into this park as a walk-in

9:49 ↗ park we're not changing this

9:51 ↗ um we're not creating parking um so we

9:54 ↗ we want this to be a a player that

9:57 ↗ really serves

9:58 ↗ um in that existing scale of the park um

10:02 ↗ i noticed um just even in sharing this

10:04 ↗ all with you

10:05 ↗ this is still a draft we are going to

10:08 ↗ also look at

10:09 ↗ um ways that we can address some of the

10:12 ↗ drainage as we're sighting and locating

10:14 ↗ uh the play area so there's

10:18 ↗ still a few changes we need to make to

10:20 ↗ this presentation

10:21 ↗ next in the analysis we really want to

10:23 ↗ dive into some of the environmental

10:24 ↗ realities

10:26 ↗ of the site of the area um

10:29 ↗ methuen and their consultant team do a

10:32 ↗ great job of

10:33 ↗ really again starting big picture but

10:35 ↗ really honing in on one of the

10:37 ↗ environmental area

10:39 ↗ environmental elements of this

10:42 ↗ of this site we're also going to

10:45 ↗ talk with the community on tuesday night

10:47 ↗ about

10:49 ↗ the new environmental checklist which is

10:51 ↗ part of our

10:52 ↗ project process um introducing that

10:55 ↗ introducing um how taking a look at

11:00 ↗ the critical areas both on the site and

11:03 ↗ off site that may have buffers within

11:05 ↗ this two acre

11:05 ↗ two acre site are really an important

11:08 ↗ element that we're looking at

11:10 ↗ from the get go of this project

11:13 ↗ so we'll spend some time talking about

11:14 ↗ that again inviting feedback

11:16 ↗ on other environmental areas or issues

11:20 ↗ that

11:21 ↗ a community might be aware of we'll then

11:24 ↗ talk through this sort of the right side

11:27 ↗ of the screen here talks about

11:28 ↗ considerations and really elements of

11:30 ↗ this environmental checklist that

11:32 ↗ will be important as we go through the

11:35 ↗ the process

11:36 ↗ uh this first neighborhood engagement is

11:39 ↗ going to lead

11:40 ↗ into a second neighborhood meeting that

11:42 ↗ we'll be having

11:44 ↗ in april where we'll be bringing back

11:46 ↗ not only feedback on the elements of the

11:48 ↗ the player and the project but also

11:52 ↗ on the environmental checklist and how

11:55 ↗ as we're incorporating the project we're

11:57 ↗ also

11:58 ↗ incorporating in the environmental

12:01 ↗ realities of the of the site

12:04 ↗ we'll then spend some time talking about

12:05 ↗ the context of the site itself

12:08 ↗ starting with a this overview of of

12:11 ↗ the site um hillside park this orangish

12:15 ↗ area really just being the the two acres

12:17 ↗ of

12:17 ↗ a bigger hillside but this two-acre

12:20 ↗ neighborhood park is where we're

12:23 ↗ looking at incorporating in the the play

12:25 ↗ area

12:26 ↗ uh some photos to give context um of the

12:29 ↗ site what what exists now

12:31 ↗ what some of the feel of the area we

12:34 ↗ imagine most of the people tuned in to

12:36 ↗ this meeting

12:37 ↗ are familiar with the site but just some

12:39 ↗ opportunities to give context

12:42 ↗ i mentioned earlier for those of you

12:44 ↗ that maybe have not been there

12:47 ↗ this park really has one main walk-in

12:50 ↗ entry point off of mount mckinley

12:52 ↗ drive there's another trail that comes

12:55 ↗ through the cemetery but

12:56 ↗ it truly is a walk-in space and that'll

12:59 ↗ be important to how we

13:01 ↗ think about incorporating play into the

13:02 ↗ site looking at some other

13:05 ↗ elements uh that of the site realities

13:08 ↗ of the site some buffers the buffer to

13:10 ↗ the cemetery

13:11 ↗ uh what buffers look like to the to the

13:13 ↗ residential areas

13:16 ↗ again some context photos

13:20 ↗ areas we're aware of some critical areas

13:22 ↗ we're very aware of

13:23 ↗ um and we'll need to be reviewing are

13:25 ↗ looking at steep slopes and and what

13:27 ↗ setbacks look like there

13:29 ↗ again with some some context photos

13:34 ↗ and then with this context and with some

13:36 ↗ of these environmental realities at

13:37 ↗ least begin to offer up some feedback

13:40 ↗ and opportunities for for community

13:42 ↗ thoughts on

13:43 ↗ where we might um consider locating

13:47 ↗ a play area each of these areas would

13:49 ↗ have trade-offs that we'll talk through

13:53 ↗ again the idea is not settling on a

13:56 ↗ final site on wednesday night but really

13:58 ↗ beginning to invite some feedback

14:01 ↗ from the community in terms of initial

14:04 ↗ thoughts they might have on on feel for

14:06 ↗ the site

14:07 ↗ another reality is we want that we want

14:10 ↗ to introduce to the neighborhood

14:12 ↗ is given this desire at hillside in

14:15 ↗ particular of

14:16 ↗ of the trees of

14:19 ↗ so much of of the natural experience of

14:21 ↗ hillside and how we can incorporate play

14:24 ↗ into that natural area is this idea of

14:27 ↗ we can think creatively about how to

14:29 ↗ incorporate play it doesn't necessarily

14:31 ↗ have to be

14:32 ↗ the traditional one big large play area

14:36 ↗ that's just

14:37 ↗ plopped into a space but again beginning

14:40 ↗ to get some feedback and

14:42 ↗ welcoming this idea of

14:45 ↗ um maybe we have a concentrated player

14:48 ↗ but also this idea of dispersing play

14:51 ↗ throughout the site

14:52 ↗ we could do it in this sort of play area

14:55 ↗ and then a couple of discovery areas or

14:58 ↗ even this idea of a series of small play

15:01 ↗ experiences

15:02 ↗ play areas incorporated

15:05 ↗ and connected either with a trail or

15:08 ↗ throughout the site

15:10 ↗ and again just a chance to invite some

15:13 ↗ feedback

15:14 ↗ on that um and then jumping right into

15:19 ↗ um these ideas of play and beginning to

15:21 ↗ get some feedback

15:22 ↗ as to how the community would like to

15:26 ↗ consider play not all play is the same

15:28 ↗ thing

15:28 ↗ i know oftentimes we'll look at a play

15:30 ↗ area and just think oh player is a play

15:32 ↗ area but

15:33 ↗ um i think bethune and this approach of

15:36 ↗ really

15:37 ↗ thinking of play the the variety of play

15:40 ↗ that existed

15:41 ↗ exists i think will will allow us to

15:44 ↗ create a play space and a play area that

15:47 ↗ really blends into the neighborhood but

15:48 ↗ also um

15:51 ↗ serves that squawk mountain community

15:53 ↗ really well

15:54 ↗ um given this is a virtual meeting and

15:56 ↗ we're going to try and get

15:57 ↗ really creative and and how to get

15:59 ↗ feedback on

16:01 ↗ um ideas and concepts uh methune does a

16:05 ↗ great job of

16:06 ↗ of creating these um or providing these

16:09 ↗ images that again are not meant to be

16:12 ↗ exact concepts that are going to be as

16:14 ↗ part of hillside but

16:16 ↗ uh really start to welcome um and maybe

16:18 ↗ open up some

16:19 ↗ some creative thinking or or

16:23 ↗ at least some initial um

16:26 ↗ visuals for the community to to react

16:29 ↗ off of versus just

16:30 ↗ um words i think we all tend to be quite

16:34 ↗ visual

16:35 ↗ in our experiences and

16:38 ↗ these visuals could certainly help

16:40 ↗ garner community feedback so

16:43 ↗ again looking at both types of

16:45 ↗ structures mix of materials with

16:47 ↗ hillside in particular we really are

16:49 ↗ trying to emphasize some of the natural

16:51 ↗ play natural woods um rope

16:55 ↗ netting nature play adventure play

16:58 ↗ um again i'm not going through this

17:00 ↗ survey like we're going to go through

17:02 ↗ with the community but

17:04 ↗ you'll just see trying to

17:07 ↗ really invite different ways to think of

17:09 ↗ play different ways to think of

17:11 ↗ accessibility

17:14 ↗ family use do we want to

17:18 ↗ consider ways of of exploration and and

17:21 ↗ really inviting creative play as opposed

17:23 ↗ to just the traditional

17:25 ↗ plop and play how do we want to

17:26 ↗ incorporate seating um how do we want to

17:29 ↗ incorporate art

17:30 ↗ that's another element that we're

17:32 ↗ looking at is and an art doesn't have to

17:34 ↗ be

17:34 ↗ again just a plopped piece of public art

17:37 ↗ but how can art be

17:39 ↗ part of play and and part of really

17:41 ↗ celebrating what

17:42 ↗ uh what that park is so that i believe

17:46 ↗ is the last slide of this draft of

17:48 ↗ hillside i'm going to stop there before

17:50 ↗ jumping into blackberry

17:53 ↗ i'm going to stop sharing my script well

17:55 ↗ i'll keep sharing my screen and see if

17:57 ↗ there's any

17:58 ↗ comments or feedback brad i'm not sure

18:01 ↗ if you were able to look at the

18:04 ↗ at the chat box

18:07 ↗ maybe it's easier for me to stop sharing

18:10 ↗ now i can look at the chat box right now

18:12 ↗ there's nothing in there

18:13 ↗ okay any just any general thoughts

18:16 ↗ feedback what do you

18:17 ↗ what do you all think of this this type

18:19 ↗ of approach

18:20 ↗ i have a couple of thoughts um the

18:23 ↗ um i like the approach and then all the

18:26 ↗ visuals i think that's really conducive

18:28 ↗ to getting

18:29 ↗ good feedback you know like um one

18:32 ↗ a few thoughts though um one when you

18:35 ↗ mention

18:36 ↗ kind of natural play and how that might

18:39 ↗ be really conducive to this

18:40 ↗ i i agree with that i also remember

18:45 ↗ that that was the approach we took with

18:47 ↗ confluence park i think

18:49 ↗ and what we ended up doing was adding a

18:51 ↗ place a formal play structure

18:54 ↗ um thinking originally that we we didn't

18:57 ↗ need that

18:58 ↗ so i just want to kind of throw that out

18:59 ↗ as sort of maybe

19:01 ↗ perhaps a lesson learned um and then the

19:04 ↗ other thing is you know we've

19:05 ↗ for as long as i've been on the park

19:06 ↗ board we have been talking about doing

19:09 ↗ something with hillside park

19:11 ↗ and over the years we've gotten a lot of

19:13 ↗ resistance from the community

19:15 ↗ up there and i'm sure a big part of that

19:18 ↗ is

19:18 ↗ not wanting to attract the lack of

19:21 ↗ parking and not wanting to

19:23 ↗ attract people in you know bring cool

19:25 ↗ people in so

19:26 ↗ i'm just curious are you you mentioned a

19:30 ↗ 2014 survey was that pretty

19:31 ↗ overwhelmingly like

19:33 ↗ are you getting the sense that the

19:34 ↗ community is ready for

19:37 ↗ you know an improvement to this park

19:41 ↗ yeah so 2014 was a series of of

19:44 ↗ community meetings that were held up

19:46 ↗ there

19:46 ↗ um you all may recall and yes there was

19:51 ↗ excuse me real interest in

19:55 ↗ adding a play area to the site um

19:58 ↗ again with the caveat of how can it be

20:01 ↗ natural

20:02 ↗ how can it be incorporated in to a scale

20:06 ↗ that doesn't

20:07 ↗ we're not we're not creating a community

20:09 ↗ size play area that's going to

20:12 ↗ create a destination um and how do we do

20:14 ↗ it in a way that doesn't detract from

20:16 ↗ the existing uses and elements of of the

20:19 ↗ park and so we're going to

20:21 ↗ head into this exercise with that same

20:24 ↗ set of

20:26 ↗ conditions and and sort of

20:30 ↗ a baseline like any public engagement

20:33 ↗ danielle

20:34 ↗ yeah i would imagine and even as i've

20:36 ↗ gotten emails as we've set this

20:37 ↗ this invite out um there is there's a

20:40 ↗ real

20:41 ↗ mix of feelings and opinions uh about

20:44 ↗ this park and and

20:45 ↗ whether there's interest in having a

20:47 ↗ play area or not

20:48 ↗ a lot of interest in um

20:52 ↗ greater player is fine as long as it

20:53 ↗ doesn't take away from the field

20:55 ↗ or as long as it doesn't take away from

20:57 ↗ the trail

20:58 ↗ so all of that is i think pretty natural

21:02 ↗ um and certainly in my years of working

21:05 ↗ in a variety of cities that's not rare

21:08 ↗ when we look at incorporating a new

21:10 ↗ element into a park that a

21:11 ↗ community wants uh not every not every

21:14 ↗ member of that neighborhood might

21:16 ↗ want that element but you know how do we

21:18 ↗ add that element

21:20 ↗ um in a way that also um respects the

21:24 ↗ variety of interests and the variety of

21:26 ↗ uses that are that are

21:28 ↗ already happening within that park

21:33 ↗ and how much um so i appreciate that i

21:37 ↗ just think we need to be really careful

21:38 ↗ to listen

21:39 ↗ listen to that community carefully um

21:43 ↗ and that the that community the that

21:46 ↗ neighborhood is different than some of

21:48 ↗ our

21:48 ↗ newer neighborhoods where we really um

21:52 ↗ we're like in the highlands and dallas

21:54 ↗ where there are really no yards right so

21:56 ↗ squawks

21:57 ↗ has a little firm people might have some

22:01 ↗ space for kids in their yards which

22:04 ↗ might be

22:04 ↗ one reason why we've had some reluctance

22:07 ↗ in the past

22:07 ↗ um how often how much is this is this

22:10 ↗ this part used kind of informally for

22:13 ↗ off-leash dog

22:14 ↗ you guys have a sense of that

22:17 ↗ as for that um yeah i

22:21 ↗ i mean i don't have i i can't quantify

22:24 ↗ other than to say yeah it's it's an open

22:27 ↗ field

22:27 ↗ so yes it is used to a degree

22:31 ↗ for both unleash and off leash

22:34 ↗ dog use

22:38 ↗ hey jeff is this a matter of uh

22:42 ↗ planning only this year or is there

22:44 ↗ actually funding available to actually

22:46 ↗ do the work

22:47 ↗ there's funding actually to do the work

22:48 ↗ so that's something i appreciate you

22:50 ↗ asking that

22:50 ↗ uh that's something we'll share that the

22:52 ↗ goal would be to

22:54 ↗ have a play area installed on each of

22:56 ↗ these sites this fall

22:59 ↗ as well as some upgrades to the trail

23:01 ↗ system too

23:03 ↗ uh i don't know what you mean by

23:05 ↗ upgrades to the trail system

23:07 ↗ uh no i mean the player is the primary

23:09 ↗ goal i think how we can address drainage

23:11 ↗ in the in the main field at hillside

23:15 ↗ again depending on where we locate the

23:16 ↗ play area would probably be a goal of

23:18 ↗ this

23:19 ↗ but in terms of expanding trails

23:22 ↗ like down to lower cemetery area no

23:24 ↗ that's not part of

23:26 ↗ it's not part of this phase of work that

23:28 ↗ would be completed this year

23:31 ↗ but the nice thing about this engagement

23:33 ↗ is and hopefully in this approach of

23:35 ↗ really

23:37 ↗ um having a unique a conversation with

23:40 ↗ the neighborhood

23:41 ↗ is i think you know the goal is to get

23:44 ↗ feedback for

23:44 ↗ this phase of work with the player and

23:46 ↗ how to incorporate it if we're going to

23:48 ↗ do a play area

23:50 ↗ but then also welcome feedback on

23:56 ↗ other other improvements that

23:59 ↗ we might want to accomplish in a future

24:02 ↗ phase

24:05 ↗ chris did you have your hand up uh yeah

24:07 ↗ i had a few comments a few thoughts

24:10 ↗ uh i think it would be wise uh even if

24:13 ↗ sorry can you hear me

24:17 ↗ uh maybe that better yes it is okay

24:21 ↗ uh let me move this window over here

24:25 ↗ uh if i can

24:28 ↗ i think it would be wise to ask the

24:31 ↗ question

24:32 ↗ of the neighbors and the participants

24:36 ↗ about trails and access

24:40 ↗ i know a family that lives on mount

24:43 ↗ mckinley

24:44 ↗ they love having it they love that it's

24:46 ↗ sort of a secret

24:47 ↗ you know they're on private park and

24:49 ↗ obviously that's not uh you know

24:51 ↗ not everybody gets to have a private

24:52 ↗ park but um

24:55 ↗ if improvements are made there then

24:58 ↗ it might become a destination you know

25:02 ↗ even if it's

25:03 ↗ not a big destination and

25:06 ↗ if there are greater access points that

25:09 ↗ might be able to alleviate and disperse

25:12 ↗ uh some of the influx of visitors and so

25:15 ↗ i think it's worth asking the question

25:16 ↗ and exploring for if it has to be a

25:18 ↗ later phase

25:19 ↗ um that's it and then the other thing

25:21 ↗ about this park is because it's hidden

25:24 ↗ uh it can be home to uh other activities

25:29 ↗ um that you know are not desirable in a

25:31 ↗ public park

25:33 ↗ and if you can create

25:36 ↗ those you know that influx steady

25:38 ↗ movement of people through there then it

25:40 ↗ can become sort of self-controlled and

25:43 ↗ so that's another reason i think we

25:44 ↗ should explore that idea even if it's

25:46 ↗ not with this space

25:51 ↗ great points chris yeah i i think the

25:53 ↗ idea of access

25:54 ↗ those conversations of how this space

25:57 ↗ functions

25:59 ↗ are all going to be not only questions

26:01 ↗ we ask but really welcome

26:03 ↗ feedback and and discussion

26:07 ↗ again like any public space as we manage

26:10 ↗ a public park

26:11 ↗ for public use you're right we want to

26:14 ↗ do it in a way that's

26:18 ↗ respectful to the neighbors of that

26:20 ↗ public space

26:22 ↗ um but also

26:26 ↗ again tries to seek to serve um

26:29 ↗ serve the public use and again in this

26:31 ↗ case this is not a community park that's

26:33 ↗ trying to serve

26:34 ↗ all of issaquah it's a neighborhood park

26:36 ↗ that's really trying to serve

26:38 ↗ that that neighborhood as best as it can

26:43 ↗ and i think that's the challenge is to

26:45 ↗ try and find a balance there because uh

26:48 ↗ right now i think the only people that

26:50 ↗ are using it are people that really live

26:52 ↗ adjacent to the park for the most part

26:54 ↗ and

26:55 ↗ the rest of us that live on squat

26:57 ↗ mountain because of it being so hilly

26:59 ↗ here

27:00 ↗ and there is no real parking or any real

27:03 ↗ good access

27:04 ↗ a lot of people on squawk don't use it

27:06 ↗ unless you live next to it

27:08 ↗ i mean so i think it's so i think

27:11 ↗ there's

27:11 ↗ a portion of the community that's going

27:13 ↗ to be very protective because they don't

27:15 ↗ want to lose their private park

27:17 ↗ but there's also a part of the community

27:18 ↗ that would like to be able to

27:20 ↗ have a park on squawk mountain that they

27:22 ↗ could utilize

27:23 ↗ and so and so how do you balance that i

27:26 ↗ guess that's that's the challenge

27:28 ↗ yeah and to continue with the idea of

27:31 ↗ trails and sorry

27:32 ↗ if that's a too big of a digression but

27:35 ↗ um

27:36 ↗ so we live further up the hill on squawk

27:39 ↗ and my wife and i are out on the

27:40 ↗ mountain all the time

27:42 ↗ and as of last march the number of

27:45 ↗ visitors to squawk mountain park

27:48 ↗ probably increased tenfold if not more

27:52 ↗ it's great you know it's what we all

27:54 ↗ want people outdoors and everything but

27:55 ↗ they're you know parking all over and

27:57 ↗ going into you know the main squawk

27:59 ↗ mountain park

28:00 ↗ if this area you know could be done in a

28:04 ↗ way where

28:04 ↗ you had more access points out you know

28:06 ↗ there's mckinley jupiter

28:09 ↗ uh i can't remember all the names you

28:11 ↗ know fury mount cedar

28:13 ↗ um each of those had some little trail

28:16 ↗ accesses and a little

28:17 ↗ network through there now you've got

28:19 ↗ another place for people to go out and

28:21 ↗ do their walking

28:23 ↗ and uh move about through the mountain

28:25 ↗ uh

28:26 ↗ and the other thing about this that

28:27 ↗ maybe some people don't realize this

28:30 ↗ on squawk you know you have the entrance

28:33 ↗ down kind of by

28:34 ↗ you know the mountain park by sunset by

28:36 ↗ the hatchery

28:37 ↗ and then tibbetts and it's very hard to

28:39 ↗ get across

28:41 ↗ and for people to have the opportunity

28:43 ↗ to

28:44 ↗ do walks one way or the other and sort

28:46 ↗ of get through

28:47 ↗ that otherwise what's otherwise an

28:49 ↗ obstacle i think would be valuable

28:53 ↗ yep great points chris and i'll drop the

28:55 ↗ whole trail thing now

28:57 ↗ it's all right

29:00 ↗ please it's great it's amazing to be

29:03 ↗ able to walk

29:04 ↗ you know not have to walk on newport

29:06 ↗ right to

29:07 ↗ across somehow um normally i love

29:11 ↗ the idea that our new parks you know

29:14 ↗ have something different

29:15 ↗ and unique and um

29:19 ↗ you know have some new kind of feature

29:22 ↗ um

29:23 ↗ at this park i wonder if it might be a

29:26 ↗ good idea to sort of be redundant

29:28 ↗ so that to kind of alleviate the

29:31 ↗ attraction for people outside the

29:33 ↗ neighborhood coming in

29:35 ↗ so um which is just sort of a

29:40 ↗ i don't know it might be a strategy to

29:42 ↗ think about

29:45 ↗ to put features in that we have already

29:47 ↗ at some of our other

29:50 ↗ yeah yeah it's a great point all of

29:53 ↗ these are really good feedback and that

29:55 ↗ in that we're really trying to thread a

29:57 ↗ needle um

29:58 ↗ right how do we incorporate play into

30:00 ↗ this space how do we make it unique to

30:02 ↗ the neighborhood

30:03 ↗ and um this probably isn't the right way

30:06 ↗ to put it but let's not over

30:07 ↗ let's not overshoot and end up creating

30:09 ↗ a destination play area

30:11 ↗ um within a park that um

30:16 ↗ yeah isn't isn't um able to support that

30:19 ↗ at this point in time

30:20 ↗ so this idea of phasing this idea of um

30:24 ↗ but again keeping it to scale for what

30:26 ↗ this

30:27 ↗ what this park is again there's there's

30:30 ↗ many in that community that have asked

30:32 ↗ and requested a play area to be

30:34 ↗ incorporated in a hillside and we're

30:35 ↗ going to do the best we can to

30:37 ↗ have this neighborhood conversation

30:39 ↗ really think of play creatively

30:41 ↗ think of this site creatively and and

30:44 ↗ really try and

30:45 ↗ come up with some options on how play

30:48 ↗ could be incorporated into this park

30:50 ↗ to the right scale and in a way that

30:52 ↗ still

30:53 ↗ blends with existing uses and with

30:56 ↗ the environment yeah i really want to

31:00 ↗ see what the community says but i really

31:01 ↗ like the concept of spreading it out so

31:03 ↗ it's not

31:04 ↗ just one big play area those little ones

31:06 ↗ along the trail and

31:08 ↗ you know i think that really helps so

31:11 ↗ that it's not

31:11 ↗ too congested um and gives people

31:15 ↗ some space and maybe even some private

31:17 ↗ space to some extent

31:19 ↗ and so just to clarify there's not going

31:22 ↗ to be

31:24 ↗ much of any tree loss

31:27 ↗ or excavation in this project

31:31 ↗ that would not be our goal our goal so

31:33 ↗ part of our sign analysis has been

31:35 ↗ um inventorying all trees and especially

31:38 ↗ trees of significance there are some

31:40 ↗ hazard trees

31:41 ↗ but again identifying those through the

31:43 ↗ work of an arborist

31:44 ↗ consultant yeah but again the goal is to

31:47 ↗ preserve

31:48 ↗ those trees and and create a play area

31:50 ↗ that works within

31:52 ↗ um within the site and again not a lot

31:55 ↗ of excessive grading either

31:57 ↗ all right like for any player there's

31:59 ↗ some degree of grading but we're not

32:01 ↗ looking at

32:02 ↗ um moving a lot of earth to do that

32:05 ↗ and anything that's occurs would just be

32:07 ↗ for the play area only not

32:09 ↗ anywhere else like the open field

32:11 ↗ essentially is going to remain what it

32:14 ↗ is

32:14 ↗ that would be the goal yeah again the

32:17 ↗ strong community interest

32:18 ↗ um in 2014 and here if you know

32:22 ↗ let's let's let that field be the

32:24 ↗ multi-use

32:26 ↗ lawn and space that it is um and then

32:30 ↗ yep blend a blend of play area to

32:32 ↗ complement it

32:33 ↗ not take its place

32:37 ↗ good any anybody else have any questions

32:40 ↗ comments

32:43 ↗ chrissy's throwing your hand up

32:48 ↗ what would be a comparable sized um

32:52 ↗ park that we're talking about like as

32:54 ↗ far as a play area

32:57 ↗ uh in terms of square footage daniel

32:59 ↗ we're not at that point yet

33:02 ↗ so i no but for like a neighborhood park

33:05 ↗ what are our other kind of neighborhood

33:06 ↗ parks that are classified as that

33:11 ↗ boy uh blackberry which we're gonna talk

33:13 ↗ about next yeah

33:14 ↗ um yeah that's a that's a unique one

33:19 ↗ you know i'd say black nugget epidisc

33:21 ↗ highlands but that's such a different

33:22 ↗ neighborhood

33:23 ↗ right it's you know i i think it might

33:26 ↗ be similar in size but it's very

33:28 ↗ different in terms of

33:29 ↗ recreation amenities right it's much

33:31 ↗ more of a developed neighborhood park

33:36 ↗ i mean i'd say this space is really

33:38 ↗ quite unique um

33:40 ↗ both it's it's a neighborhood park but

33:43 ↗ it's a

33:44 ↗ it's more passive in nature and i i

33:47 ↗ think the community very much

33:48 ↗ wants it to stay that way

33:53 ↗ yes i heard a yes

33:57 ↗ yes it's more of a green belt with a

34:00 ↗ little bit of a park in it

34:02 ↗ yeah yep yep and again i think that's

34:06 ↗ what we're really trying and this is

34:07 ↗ great feedback and i think what we're

34:09 ↗ really trying to

34:10 ↗ represent in these conversations is

34:14 ↗ let's let the site let's let the

34:15 ↗ uniqueness of each of these sites and

34:17 ↗ any site that we do park work on

34:20 ↗ really inform the work that we're going

34:22 ↗ to do both in scale

34:24 ↗ and environment and sort of the natural

34:27 ↗ resources that exist

34:30 ↗ on that site i mean personally i think

34:34 ↗ the trails are probably

34:36 ↗ as important if not more important than

34:39 ↗ at that particular park than you know um

34:43 ↗ play amenities to some extent

34:48 ↗ it's because of it being such a natural

34:50 ↗ area

34:51 ↗ you know people just having an

34:52 ↗ opportunity to get out in

34:54 ↗ being in nature um

34:57 ↗ you know having an opportunity to be on

34:59 ↗ those trails i think is

35:00 ↗ is is is kind of a priority

35:04 ↗ i would think rather than you know a

35:07 ↗ gymnasium

35:10 ↗ right because that's just my opinion

35:11 ↗ we'll see what the community says about

35:13 ↗ that

35:14 ↗ so again yeah how to how what is play

35:16 ↗ what's the scale of play look like

35:18 ↗ that that complements trail use

35:21 ↗ the natural environment in essence

35:24 ↗ a field that sort of functions as a

35:27 ↗ forested meadow

35:30 ↗ so you know how do we how do we stay

35:32 ↗ true to all that

35:34 ↗ um and and consider play well that's why

35:37 ↗ i was saying

35:37 ↗ you know budget wise you know if people

35:40 ↗ are not real supportive of a lot of

35:44 ↗ gymnasium kind of things to be playing

35:46 ↗ on can some of that money be devoted to

35:48 ↗ the trail system you know to make either

35:51 ↗ maybe more connections like what chris

35:53 ↗ is talking about

35:55 ↗ or what trails you do have to at least

35:57 ↗ put them in better shape so they're

35:59 ↗ used better or more often

36:03 ↗ what do you have we have like a hundred

36:05 ↗ thousand dollars i think don't you

36:08 ↗ know right now within uh within the

36:10 ↗ budget for the park we have three

36:12 ↗ hundred thousand dollars

36:14 ↗ but again that's not necessarily the

36:16 ↗ goal is not to spend that all on this

36:19 ↗ play area project right so it's this

36:21 ↗ idea of what does this first phase look

36:22 ↗ like

36:23 ↗ to complete this year and then how does

36:26 ↗ this feedback how does this ongoing

36:27 ↗ engagement help

36:29 ↗ um drive what what a future phase might

36:33 ↗ be

36:35 ↗ and some of that money's going to the

36:36 ↗ consultant i assume as well

36:38 ↗ right or is that separate no it's all

36:41 ↗ it would go to the consultant it would

36:43 ↗ go towards design fees

36:44 ↗ um permit per rating fees we have the

36:47 ↗ pleasure of

36:48 ↗ spending permit fees so yeah that money

36:51 ↗ goes a lot of different

36:52 ↗ a lot of different places it's not just

36:55 ↗ it's not just buying play equipment

37:00 ↗ any other questions or comments on uh

37:02 ↗ hillside chris

37:03 ↗ yeah sorry so another thing that's

37:05 ↗ probably going to be

37:07 ↗ important to consider is the access for

37:10 ↗ maintenance

37:12 ↗ there's just not very good access for

37:14 ↗ vehicles and equipment there

37:17 ↗ which may point towards some of those

37:19 ↗ more natural type structures like the

37:21 ↗ lawns

37:23 ↗ yeah letting existing grade maybe

37:26 ↗ support

37:27 ↗ sliding and playing and netting

37:30 ↗ you're absolutely right yep long-term

37:33 ↗ maintenance access to maintenance is a

37:35 ↗ is another

37:36 ↗ key part to scaling this play experience

37:40 ↗ to the right right level good

37:42 ↗ opportunity for a zip line all the way

37:44 ↗ down to sunset

37:48 ↗ and you're going to attract a bunch of

37:51 ↗ people

37:53 ↗ seriously parents will bring uh bring

37:56 ↗ kids to wherever there's like a new and

37:58 ↗ unique

37:59 ↗ piece of play equipment so keep it in

38:02 ↗ mind

38:03 ↗ right yep

38:07 ↗ anything else anyone on this one

38:12 ↗ not seeing anything looks like it's

38:13 ↗ blackberry all right

38:15 ↗ again really appreciate that the

38:17 ↗ feedback here uh

38:18 ↗ similarly i will share my screen

38:23 ↗ please verify i did it right again looks

38:26 ↗ good

38:26 ↗ okay so

38:29 ↗ as i was saying earlier each of these

38:32 ↗ sites is

38:32 ↗ similar in terms of the goal of

38:35 ↗ incorporating play but

38:37 ↗ unique in in both its location and

38:42 ↗ i think some of the issues and

38:43 ↗ opportunities that we need to

38:45 ↗ and want to get community feedback on if

38:48 ↗ if you're

38:49 ↗ familiar with the sammamish cove area

38:51 ↗ blackberry park

38:53 ↗ boy i i wish i could give you the street

38:55 ↗ number but i don't have it memorized

38:58 ↗ tucked right in to a residential area

39:00 ↗ this was a king county parcel it wasn't

39:03 ↗ even a park

39:04 ↗ parcel it was a king county

39:07 ↗ owned single-family residential parcel

39:10 ↗ for

39:11 ↗ for decades the neighborhood around it

39:16 ↗ began to incorporate it and park

39:18 ↗ elements into it

39:19 ↗ and it really became a neighborhood park

39:22 ↗ because of

39:23 ↗ of community support this was

39:26 ↗ transferred to us

39:27 ↗ in 2017 um

39:31 ↗ and we began to to engage with the

39:34 ↗ community as to what they

39:36 ↗ want to see happen how they want to see

39:38 ↗ this site managed

39:40 ↗ the meeting on thursday night will again

39:42 ↗ start with

39:43 ↗ uh mayor paulie given some welcome

39:45 ↗ comments

39:47 ↗ um agenda will look relatively similar

39:49 ↗ uh that we don't have

39:51 ↗ um a huge amount of community engagement

39:53 ↗ to sort of base as a starting point

39:56 ↗ but again we'll start with this idea of

39:58 ↗ analysis of the site

40:00 ↗ what do we know of the environmental

40:01 ↗ conditions what do we know

40:03 ↗ of some of the background in this case

40:06 ↗ what the what the neighborhood sort of

40:09 ↗ invested

40:10 ↗ through their own sweat equity into this

40:11 ↗ site and how do we analyze play

40:16 ↗ how do we analyze really quite frankly

40:18 ↗ what you'll see is how constrained this

40:20 ↗ site is

40:21 ↗ to to incorporating play we'll go

40:24 ↗ through some of the similar exercises a

40:26 ↗ variety of play

40:27 ↗ what you'll see in those varieties of

40:30 ↗ play in this slide are going to look a

40:31 ↗ little different

40:32 ↗ more there are some natural elements

40:35 ↗ that we want to sort of draw out

40:36 ↗ but also some more sort of traditional

40:40 ↗ um play spaces given that the

40:43 ↗ constraints of the site

40:45 ↗ we'll talk through again these pooling

40:46 ↗ opportunities to get real-time analysis

40:49 ↗ or feedback from

40:51 ↗ the community we'll start with another

40:53 ↗ context map

40:55 ↗ here you go i could have waited

40:56 ↗ southeast 42nd and and 191st

40:59 ↗ is where you'll find blackberry park

41:03 ↗ as i said earlier tucked right into the

41:04 ↗ residential

41:06 ↗ neighborhood similar to what we did with

41:09 ↗ hillside we'll talk through

41:10 ↗ the environmental requirements that that

41:15 ↗ any and all projects need to go through

41:18 ↗ invite opportunity for feedback

41:21 ↗ as we talk through that again this idea

41:23 ↗ of

41:24 ↗ blending neighborhood feedback on the

41:28 ↗ scope of the project but also

41:30 ↗ neighborhood feedback

41:31 ↗ on environmental concerns um

41:35 ↗ at that at the same time we're going

41:36 ↗ through these neighborhood conversations

41:41 ↗ uh this slide will really i think speak

41:44 ↗ to some of that background in history

41:47 ↗ there was an original play structure

41:48 ↗ that was there before 2006

41:50 ↗ uh the community uh neighborhood a lead

41:54 ↗ effort

41:54 ↗ replaced that play area in 2006.

41:58 ↗ there's a

42:02 ↗ concrete pad area that was a basketball

42:04 ↗ hoop there's still a basketball hoop in

42:06 ↗ the corner you can see that that photo

42:08 ↗ there

42:09 ↗ there's a gazebo that was just installed

42:12 ↗ um king county transferred it to us so i

42:15 ↗ was wrong 2016

42:16 ↗ late 2016. it was november december when

42:19 ↗ that happened we had some

42:21 ↗ hosted a barbecue out there on site in

42:23 ↗ 2017

42:24 ↗ to meet the neighbors to talk about the

42:26 ↗ transfer of this property from the

42:28 ↗ county to the city

42:32 ↗ at that time they were the neighborhood

42:33 ↗ had some concerns about the play area

42:35 ↗ this is a

42:36 ↗ play area that doesn't meet you know

42:38 ↗ national sort of

42:40 ↗ public play area safety standards it's

42:42 ↗ not such a risk that we felt like we

42:44 ↗ needed to take it down at the time but

42:46 ↗ i felt like we really need to look and

42:48 ↗ consider

42:50 ↗ what a replacement of that play area

42:52 ↗ looks like

42:55 ↗ again an opportunity to invite more

42:57 ↗ feedback on thursday night

43:00 ↗ what are they most proud of what changes

43:04 ↗ what other information would they like

43:06 ↗ us to know

43:10 ↗ context map that that sort of talks

43:12 ↗ through uh some of these existing

43:14 ↗ elements

43:14 ↗ and and where they um exist on site

43:18 ↗ again some visuals uh for context

43:23 ↗ you start looking at setbacks

43:26 ↗ and and start sort of inviting

43:30 ↗ this conversation around some of the

43:31 ↗ challenges that exist with this site as

43:33 ↗ as we look at incorporating park

43:36 ↗ elements

43:37 ↗ into it as as a true park

43:41 ↗ um you'll see where the existing play

43:43 ↗ area is in this corner when you look at

43:46 ↗ um permitted required setbacks

43:50 ↗ um we have a player that is

43:54 ↗ to put a bluntly a little too close to

43:56 ↗ the to the edge of the

43:58 ↗ the property so some of these things we

44:00 ↗ need to look at as we

44:02 ↗ think of incorporating new play area

44:05 ↗ into the site

44:06 ↗ i want to want to talk with the

44:08 ↗ community and and get feedback on

44:10 ↗ on some of that um

44:13 ↗ this then leads into really this

44:15 ↗ conversation of how do we recon

44:17 ↗ how do we consider play needs a variety

44:20 ↗ of locations within the site but also

44:24 ↗ not detracting from some of the other

44:27 ↗ elements that exist within this park

44:30 ↗ this is really going to begin to talk

44:32 ↗ and and feel

44:34 ↗ um on thursday night

44:37 ↗ um really a conversation about

44:39 ↗ trade-offs

44:40 ↗ for the want of a of a play area or a

44:43 ↗ certain size play area

44:44 ↗ um there's considerations that the

44:47 ↗ neighborhood's really going to need to

44:48 ↗ consider and we want to be very

44:50 ↗ considerate of and get community

44:53 ↗ feedback

44:54 ↗ on that before we go much farther with

44:56 ↗ this

44:58 ↗ project some of these edges

45:02 ↗ and how this property relates and is so

45:04 ↗ close to the neighbors is really

45:05 ↗ important

45:06 ↗ um the trellis that's getting up in age

45:09 ↗ um is that something

45:10 ↗ again the community feels really uh

45:13 ↗ wedded to is that something we

45:15 ↗ we need to consider keeping uh there's a

45:17 ↗ big patch of

45:19 ↗ non-native blackberries that exist on

45:21 ↗ the other side of the park from this

45:23 ↗ photo

45:25 ↗ if if blackberries are

45:29 ↗ a huge priority for this community how

45:31 ↗ might we consider

45:33 ↗ accomplishing that without um having

45:35 ↗ wild invasive blackberries

45:37 ↗ take up such a big part of the park

45:41 ↗ from there we'll talk through similar to

45:43 ↗ what we did with hillside sort of go

45:44 ↗ through this exercise

45:46 ↗ of types of play what are the priority

45:48 ↗ types of play

45:49 ↗ you'll see some of these visuals that

45:51 ↗ again as i was saying earlier

45:53 ↗ speak to natural features but also look

45:56 ↗ at

45:57 ↗ some of the more traditional play type

45:59 ↗ structures that we'll probably need to

46:01 ↗ consider

46:02 ↗ for such a small park in a small area

46:05 ↗ netting climbing etc

46:08 ↗ i won't spend a lot of time talking

46:10 ↗ through this

46:12 ↗ unless you have some questions

46:15 ↗ all of this is really going to lead to

46:17 ↗ some of these um

46:19 ↗ i think the important conversations that

46:21 ↗ we really want to have with the

46:22 ↗ neighborhood on thursday night

46:24 ↗ and get their feedback are these ideas

46:26 ↗ of layout both size and scale of play

46:28 ↗ area

46:29 ↗ and when you start looking at

46:31 ↗ considerations given setback

46:33 ↗ requirements etc

46:35 ↗ what are some of the trade-offs that

46:37 ↗ that we're going to need to consider

46:39 ↗ by incorporating a new player into the

46:41 ↗ site

46:42 ↗ you'll see as i go through these we

46:44 ↗ really want to

46:45 ↗ get feedback on

46:48 ↗ what happens when we look at different

46:50 ↗ sizes of play areas

46:52 ↗ and the net effect to the lawn and some

46:55 ↗ of the other elements so

46:58 ↗ to to look at say a play area that's

47:02 ↗ similar in size there was a swing that

47:04 ↗ was on a tree back here that

47:06 ↗ was a hazard tree and something we

47:09 ↗ needed to take down

47:10 ↗ quite early when it was transferred we

47:13 ↗ know from that

47:14 ↗ that conversation there's interest in

47:16 ↗ incorporating swings back into the park

47:18 ↗ again we'll get feedback but to do a

47:21 ↗ similar size play area we really can't

47:23 ↗ use that space

47:24 ↗ we'd have to look at an air another area

47:26 ↗ within the park and let that space

47:29 ↗ perhaps become lawn so this idea of

47:34 ↗ similar lawn it just might need to be a

47:36 ↗ different layout as we look at another

47:38 ↗ play area

47:39 ↗ and then like i was saying this reality

47:42 ↗ of trade-offs to go to a bigger play

47:44 ↗ space

47:45 ↗ we really start to impact the lawn area

47:48 ↗ and want to get some feedback from

47:51 ↗ the neighborhood just as to what their

47:53 ↗ preference might be

47:56 ↗ and not make assumptions

47:59 ↗ so it really this conversation unlike

48:03 ↗ hillside where it's really incorporating

48:05 ↗ into the natural

48:06 ↗ area as we look at size and scale of

48:10 ↗ play

48:10 ↗ and replacing what is a again a a

48:15 ↗ non-safety standard

48:17 ↗ residential play area to bring a public

48:21 ↗ play area and how do we do that in a way

48:23 ↗ that still

48:24 ↗ complements and meets the right

48:27 ↗ mix and proportion of elements that this

48:30 ↗ community

48:31 ↗ would like to retain within uh the park

48:34 ↗ so this really becomes the last slide of

48:38 ↗ our conversation with blackberry and

48:40 ↗ trying to get feedback

48:41 ↗ on you know no real net

48:45 ↗ lawn reduction and then the bigger the

48:48 ↗ play area you'll see there's a

48:49 ↗ an impact to to the lawn space that is

48:54 ↗ remains available within within the park

49:00 ↗ so again this idea of sight constraints

49:04 ↗ of the site

49:05 ↗ um and and what um

49:09 ↗ things we need to consider as a

49:10 ↗ community and as as a city

49:13 ↗ um incorporating play into the into the

49:15 ↗ park so

49:17 ↗ thoughts questions comments

49:24 ↗ um so this is one where this is a

49:26 ↗ neighborhood that is

49:28 ↗ nice and flat with big wide street

49:31 ↗ um and kids bike you know and travel

49:35 ↗ you know freeway right they're not

49:36 ↗ constrained by the hills

49:40 ↗ um and so i think it's important to look

49:42 ↗ at this park in the context of

49:44 ↗ also looking at muirwood park and then

49:46 ↗ south cove

49:48 ↗ and looking at them together as far as

49:50 ↗ what amenities there are

49:52 ↗ um and this kind of reminds me of when

49:55 ↗ we did meerwood park it was similar i

49:58 ↗ think we took

49:58 ↗ that we i can't remember when we did

50:01 ↗ those renovations but um

50:03 ↗ it sort of strikes me as very similar to

50:05 ↗ that

50:06 ↗ um and

50:10 ↗ i would want i would think that we would

50:12 ↗ want to have something different

50:14 ↗ we have at the

50:17 ↗ the other parks in the neighborhood

50:19 ↗ where kids can easily have to

50:21 ↗ so a different reaction than

50:26 ↗ um i would also be curious is that park

50:29 ↗ in

50:30 ↗ south cove proper like do the people who

50:33 ↗ are adjacent to it have access

50:36 ↗ to the south coast park

50:39 ↗ uh i don't know in terms of their

50:40 ↗ private neighborhood park with south

50:43 ↗ carolina i'm not sure exactly where

50:44 ↗ those boundaries are

50:46 ↗ um i know there are a number of

50:48 ↗ depending on

50:49 ↗ timing of when each residential area was

50:52 ↗ there are some hoa parks

50:54 ↗ that certainly support um a number of

50:57 ↗ neighborhoods

50:59 ↗ so i i would be curious going into that

51:01 ↗ meeting to know

51:02 ↗ like how important green space is like

51:05 ↗ open field space

51:06 ↗ because i kind of feel like a bunch of

51:09 ↗ those

51:10 ↗ you know a lot of that neighborhood is

51:12 ↗ that like that space is probably

51:13 ↗ satisfied with the

51:15 ↗ the big grassy park that they have

51:19 ↗ but i don't know i would i would but

51:20 ↗ that's what i would want to know

51:22 ↗ no i appreciate that and that's part of

51:25 ↗ i think what we're trying to get to with

51:26 ↗ this

51:27 ↗ is understanding those trade-offs and

51:28 ↗ and quite frankly another option is

51:31 ↗ do do we consider not having a play area

51:33 ↗ at this part

51:34 ↗ right i mean that that's something that

51:37 ↗ uh we would certainly invite

51:38 ↗ um if that if that is the

51:42 ↗ feedback that comes from the community

51:47 ↗ yeah it could just be a place to

51:48 ↗ congregate you know with benches and

51:50 ↗ picnic tables and not necessarily a play

51:53 ↗ area

51:54 ↗ so where is the closest park to this one

51:57 ↗ is it south cove is that the other

51:59 ↗ closest one to this

52:01 ↗ south cold is a private park in terms of

52:04 ↗ a public park mirwood park would be the

52:06 ↗ closest

52:07 ↗ um the closest public park or timberlake

52:10 ↗ which is down in that same area too

52:12 ↗ which is in

52:13 ↗ the park but yeah mirwood's closer

52:15 ↗ meerwood is more of a neighborhood park

52:17 ↗ with a tennis court and play area

52:19 ↗ timberlake you're right is also in this

52:21 ↗ neighborhood more as a

52:22 ↗ a natural open space park right yep

52:26 ↗ and i think someone else i don't know if

52:29 ↗ anyone else

52:30 ↗ on this hall lives there but i mean um

52:35 ↗ the south coast park is well used by

52:38 ↗ that neighborhood and it's a really big

52:40 ↗ you know a very big grassy park with a

52:42 ↗ lot of points of access and it goes down

52:44 ↗ to the lake

52:45 ↗ and so my sense is that that's where

52:47 ↗ people congregate and get together with

52:48 ↗ their neighbors or

52:50 ↗ hang out

52:54 ↗ yeah yeah you're right and and i i think

52:56 ↗ you know

52:57 ↗ from rsvps both of these meetings are

53:00 ↗ going to be

53:00 ↗ quite well attended and we really want

53:02 ↗ to reinforce too

53:04 ↗ that doing these virtually gives us the

53:06 ↗ chance as i said earlier to record it

53:08 ↗ and then really invite those that attend

53:10 ↗ hey invite your neighbors to

53:12 ↗ to watch the presentation and give us

53:15 ↗ give us feedback as well and so um

53:18 ↗ i think we're optimistic we're going to

53:20 ↗ get really good neighborhood feedback to

53:22 ↗ understand

53:24 ↗ um i think your points very well taken

53:26 ↗ danielle and i would agree

53:28 ↗ right this this park has a complementary

53:31 ↗ function to those other public spaces

53:33 ↗ and so

53:34 ↗ what what experience does the community

53:38 ↗ want

53:39 ↗ for this park relative to those other

53:42 ↗ ones around it that are

53:43 ↗ maybe a little bit more accessible and

53:45 ↗ there's a different

53:46 ↗ sort of degree or set of questions as

53:48 ↗ opposed to

53:50 ↗ um complementary play at hillside park

53:55 ↗ right i mean they're play areas but

53:57 ↗ they're they're really as i was saying

53:59 ↗ at the beginning of this

54:00 ↗ uh there's there's um some uniqueness to

54:03 ↗ the to the

54:04 ↗ community feedback that we really need

54:07 ↗ for both of these

54:08 ↗ i'll also see um i think that

54:12 ↗ to the extent that i think it's

54:13 ↗ important really important to know

54:15 ↗ um before that meeting where that park

54:18 ↗ is so like if that park does not

54:20 ↗ actually serve

54:21 ↗ like if if it's in a neighborhood

54:24 ↗ that doesn't have access to the private

54:27 ↗ part

54:28 ↗ then i would hope that you're you'll

54:31 ↗ will listen

54:32 ↗ more to the people who don't have access

54:34 ↗ right who need this as a public park

54:37 ↗ so i think that's sort of an important

54:40 ↗ piece that would be an important piece

54:42 ↗ of my analysis so

54:44 ↗ what the right thing to do there right

54:46 ↗ is it possible to show that on the map

54:49 ↗ jeff where that is in relationship

54:54 ↗ not necessarily right now but for the

54:56 ↗ meeting this week

54:58 ↗ uh we could we could try i think within

55:02 ↗ that context map

55:03 ↗ if if there is a way we can readily get

55:05 ↗ definition and understand which

55:08 ↗ residential properties have access to

55:12 ↗ south cove which

55:13 ↗ do not um well we can we can certainly

55:16 ↗ do our best i

55:17 ↗ i think either way i think the point is

55:20 ↗ very well taken and understanding who

55:22 ↗ who is this park survey right this

55:24 ↗ park's going to serve different

55:26 ↗ people to different scales and and how

55:28 ↗ do we

55:29 ↗ um make sure we we keep that in mind

55:38 ↗ any other questions comments

55:45 ↗ not seeing anything any talk about

55:47 ↗ changing the name

55:50 ↗ we're not not

55:53 ↗ no no we we po we broached that at the

55:57 ↗ barbecue in 2017

55:59 ↗ and uh blackberry has uh

56:02 ↗ uh there's a strong uh

56:05 ↗ affection for that park so um

56:08 ↗ it has a it's a heritage site what

56:10 ↗ you're saying man

56:12 ↗ yeah i thought i thought all parts are

56:14 ↗ supposed to go through the naming

56:15 ↗ committee process

56:17 ↗ well it would if we were going to you

56:20 ↗ know move to change the name but if if

56:22 ↗ the community

56:23 ↗ likes the name it's got a historical

56:25 ↗ element

56:26 ↗ already built in you know i guess it can

56:28 ↗ just stay what it is

56:30 ↗ yeah i would say i would say jeremy that

56:32 ↗ this this was already a functioning park

56:34 ↗ when it was transferred to us

56:37 ↗ is that what it was called when king

56:38 ↗ county had it yeah

56:40 ↗ yes yeah and they said we had a lot more

56:42 ↗ blackberries back in those days

56:45 ↗ you could call every park around here

56:46 ↗ blackberry park yeah probably

56:49 ↗ wild parks

56:53 ↗ so i again i appreciate the chance to to

56:55 ↗ give you this sneak peek

56:57 ↗ in general i guess i'll just pose the

56:59 ↗ question as i close

57:00 ↗ this again approach

57:03 ↗ is similar to what we've done in the

57:05 ↗ past but knowing that we're going to be

57:07 ↗ having

57:09 ↗ neighborhood engagement both for the

57:11 ↗ environmental checklist but also

57:13 ↗ just scoping the project i think what

57:16 ↗ we're going to try and show in these

57:18 ↗ in these two conversations this week is

57:21 ↗ blending those conversations not having

57:24 ↗ separate neighborhood meetings about the

57:26 ↗ project and then

57:27 ↗ about environmental conditions but

57:29 ↗ really um

57:31 ↗ allowing the engagement to talk about

57:33 ↗ both because it's

57:34 ↗ it's vitally important that those are

57:37 ↗ are talked

57:39 ↗ and really spoken through and thought

57:40 ↗ through um

57:42 ↗ in the same same vein same conversation

57:50 ↗ anyone else anybody

57:54 ↗ like that's a wrap on that jeff okay

57:56 ↗ well

57:57 ↗ we'll let you know how it goes and

57:59 ↗ anticipate our march meeting

58:00 ↗ bringing this back uh like i said our

58:03 ↗ next

58:04 ↗ engagement would be in april so it'll

58:06 ↗ give us a chance in march

58:08 ↗ to really share feedback with you but

58:10 ↗ begin to

58:11 ↗ to talk through and and really discuss

58:13 ↗ what we heard

58:14 ↗ uh from those neighborhood meetings so

58:16 ↗ thank you

58:18 ↗ and jesse one last question what's the

58:20 ↗ budget for this one that you have

58:23 ↗ uh i'll need to confirm it i want to say

58:25 ↗ it's just

58:26 ↗ south of it's like 250 000.

58:32 ↗ again for the site for the park itself

58:35 ↗ yep

58:35 ↗ right so west and hillside a little bit

58:38 ↗ less yep

58:41 ↗ but a lot smaller park too so that'll go

58:43 ↗ a long ways

58:48 ↗ okay i guess um that's it for that part

58:51 ↗ of it

58:52 ↗ and so it looks like i'm on show here

58:54 ↗ for chairperson's report and i have

58:57 ↗ uh several things which i'll try and go

59:00 ↗ through

59:00 ↗ quickly uh some of the wishes just to

59:04 ↗ bring you up to date on a couple

59:05 ↗ meetings that i attended

59:06 ↗ um so i attended the

59:10 ↗ february 12th wayfinding meeting that uh

59:13 ↗ jennifer put together uh with a number

59:15 ↗ of people in the community

59:18 ↗ you'll be hearing more about that our

59:20 ↗ main focus at that particular meeting

59:22 ↗ was to get back re-engaged again that's

59:24 ↗ something that we've been

59:26 ↗ working on in 2000 losing track of time

59:29 ↗ now 2019 we had several meetings

59:32 ↗ uh with that project and then everything

59:34 ↗ got on hold last year

59:36 ↗ so at least you're going to start the

59:38 ↗ momentum back up again

59:40 ↗ basically we were working on four

59:42 ↗ different designs

59:43 ↗ of signage this is going to be

59:46 ↗ introduction signs to the city and

59:49 ↗ certain core points and then there'll be

59:52 ↗ an a bunch of other

59:53 ↗ way finding signs that are much smaller

59:57 ↗ to designate a specific areas

1:00:00 ↗ so there'll be more on that but we

1:00:02 ↗ claimed an agreement on

1:00:03 ↗ on at least the four designs to go out

1:00:06 ↗ to the community to get their feedback

1:00:08 ↗ and that'll be kind of the next

1:00:09 ↗ part of that project i attended

1:00:13 ↗ uh the the uh kokanee work group

1:00:15 ↗ quarterly meeting on january 27th

1:00:19 ↗ and a couple highlights that i wanted to

1:00:22 ↗ point out

1:00:23 ↗ from that meeting was

1:00:26 ↗ king county parks is undergoing a

1:00:29 ↗ project

1:00:30 ↗ to introduce nine interpretive signs

1:00:34 ↗ uh along the east lake sammamish trail

1:00:37 ↗ so that's something that's uh

1:00:39 ↗ coming into the early early future

1:00:42 ↗ they showed one of the signs at the

1:00:44 ↗ meeting

1:00:46 ↗ the one in particular was kind of a

1:00:48 ↗ wildlife signage but there's going to be

1:00:50 ↗ a variety of them

1:00:51 ↗ it's going to be really good signs that

1:00:54 ↗ king county is putting together

1:00:56 ↗ uh trout unlimited is still raising

1:00:59 ↗ funds for the

1:01:00 ↗ urban wildlife refuge partnership which

1:01:02 ↗ is still kicking around

1:01:04 ↗ something that i was involved in a

1:01:05 ↗ number of years ago when it first kicked

1:01:07 ↗ off

1:01:08 ↗ it's kind of gone into uh

1:01:12 ↗ nowhere land over the last year or two

1:01:14 ↗ but uh part of that is because of

1:01:16 ↗ funding so anyway trout unlimited has

1:01:18 ↗ put together some funding still

1:01:20 ↗ gathering more funding uh but they're

1:01:22 ↗ gonna have a part-time staff person

1:01:25 ↗ by the name of derrick stab who's

1:01:27 ↗ actually going to head that up

1:01:29 ↗ so there'll be more on that in the

1:01:31 ↗ future

1:01:33 ↗ um the 2020 2021

1:01:37 ↗ kokanee counts uh came in at 82

1:01:41 ↗ kokanee which is still really really low

1:01:45 ↗ but it's still a little better than

1:01:47 ↗ what's happened over the last couple

1:01:49 ↗ years so there's some encouragement

1:01:52 ↗ emergency plan is still in place

1:01:56 ↗ to prevent kokanee from going extinct

1:02:01 ↗ and the last part of the kwg

1:02:05 ↗ mound to sound greenway actually had a

1:02:06 ↗ nice presentation

1:02:09 ↗ where i think i had mentioned earlier

1:02:11 ↗ i'm not sure when

1:02:13 ↗ that they had a 1.5 million dollar grant

1:02:17 ↗ that they have been working over the

1:02:19 ↗ last several years

1:02:20 ↗ in partnership with some other agencies

1:02:24 ↗ to put together a restoration of

1:02:25 ↗ issaquah creek that runs all the way

1:02:28 ↗ through the park all the way to the lake

1:02:30 ↗ uh

1:02:31 ↗ it encompasses actually 55 acres

1:02:35 ↗ they've actually now completed that

1:02:37 ↗ design

1:02:39 ↗ plan and they're now moving into the

1:02:42 ↗ permit

1:02:43 ↗ stage and

1:02:46 ↗ the anticipation is is in the summer

1:02:49 ↗ of next year 2022 is when they

1:02:53 ↗ anticipate

1:02:54 ↗ engagement to start working on that

1:02:56 ↗ project

1:02:58 ↗ and it's expected to last for three to

1:03:00 ↗ five years

1:03:01 ↗ so that's going to be quite enough

1:03:04 ↗ quite an effort i think

1:03:08 ↗ um

1:03:13 ↗ one of the last oh this is something

1:03:16 ↗ that i'll probably

1:03:17 ↗ introduce and i'll talk to jeff a little

1:03:19 ↗ bit about this in our agenda planning

1:03:20 ↗ meeting

1:03:22 ↗ um i don't know if any of you are

1:03:24 ↗ familiar with bill way

1:03:25 ↗ he's actually on the board of friends

1:03:27 ↗ lake samana state park

1:03:30 ↗ and he along with a trail committee

1:03:34 ↗ has been working over the last three

1:03:36 ↗ years to put together a trails plan for

1:03:39 ↗ the state park

1:03:41 ↗ to run with the master planning effort

1:03:44 ↗ that the state is working on

1:03:46 ↗ currently with that and so that's going

1:03:49 ↗ to be flis

1:03:51 ↗ contribution is to present this

1:03:54 ↗ trails plan i think jeff may have just

1:03:57 ↗ gotten a recent

1:03:58 ↗ copy of it is what bill had said and so

1:04:01 ↗ i'm going to try and see if we can

1:04:03 ↗ arrange to maybe have bill

1:04:04 ↗ at our next meeting or the one after

1:04:06 ↗ depending upon

1:04:08 ↗ what other things are going on to show

1:04:10 ↗ you what that plan looks like

1:04:12 ↗ because he'd like to he'd like to show

1:04:14 ↗ what that is

1:04:15 ↗ uh it's a pretty extensive program or

1:04:18 ↗ project to the tune of almost

1:04:22 ↗ 10 million dollars so it'll be really

1:04:24 ↗ interesting to see how they

1:04:25 ↗ how the state addresses that challenge

1:04:27 ↗ but um

1:04:29 ↗ you know master planning is a long-term

1:04:32 ↗ effort and so you really have to

1:04:34 ↗ look at it like that and so that trail

1:04:36 ↗ plan is probably something that will be

1:04:38 ↗ phased in over the course of many years

1:04:40 ↗ really

1:04:43 ↗ and lastly i wanted to talk a little bit

1:04:47 ↗ about

1:04:48 ↗ uh board staffing and applications

1:04:51 ↗ so this is the end of

1:04:54 ↗ term right now coming up at the end of

1:04:57 ↗ april

1:04:57 ↗ for uh danielle and for jeremy

1:05:02 ↗ uh and so we'd certainly like to have

1:05:04 ↗ you continue on and then

1:05:07 ↗ and if you so choose

1:05:10 ↗ the applications are actually due to the

1:05:12 ↗ city by five o'clock

1:05:15 ↗ february 28th uh

1:05:18 ↗ let me know if you need a link to that

1:05:21 ↗ and i'll be happy to send it to you

1:05:25 ↗ the city has put that out a couple weeks

1:05:27 ↗ ago so you may have actually already

1:05:29 ↗ seen that

1:05:29 ↗ somewhere along the lines

1:05:35 ↗ joe has moved on so we do have one

1:05:37 ↗ additional

1:05:38 ↗ area there to fill and we're still um

1:05:41 ↗ trying to determine

1:05:42 ↗ what the status of april is going to be

1:05:44 ↗ for this year

1:05:46 ↗ so that's kind of

1:05:50 ↗ it about board staffing jeff you any

1:05:54 ↗ comments about that

1:05:55 ↗ no thanks for bringing that up brad i i

1:05:57 ↗ did i i shared a

1:05:59 ↗ an email with those members carl

1:06:02 ↗ as well his appointment is is up

1:06:05 ↗ it was actually up last year and then as

1:06:07 ↗ part of the covet extension

1:06:10 ↗ um so i i let all five of those board

1:06:13 ↗ members know

1:06:14 ↗ um encourage them to apply by the by the

1:06:16 ↗ 28th

1:06:18 ↗ and then this will go through a similar

1:06:21 ↗ interview and mayor appointment

1:06:23 ↗ process so thanks for bringing that up

1:06:25 ↗ as well

1:06:26 ↗ okay

1:06:29 ↗ so that's all i had for the chair report

1:06:33 ↗ and jeff what do you have for director's

1:06:35 ↗ report

1:06:36 ↗ thanks brad a couple of things first to

1:06:39 ↗ i guess continue on in that thought of

1:06:40 ↗ board appointments

1:06:41 ↗ a few other board members it would be

1:06:44 ↗ great don't need it right now but it'd

1:06:45 ↗ be great to identify

1:06:47 ↗ two park board members to serve on an

1:06:50 ↗ interview group

1:06:52 ↗ as we head into that in march so just be

1:06:55 ↗ thinking about that

1:06:56 ↗ shoot me an email if you're interested

1:06:58 ↗ or shoot brad an email

1:07:01 ↗ a couple of project related items

1:07:04 ↗ first brad you mentioned that the

1:07:07 ↗ wayfinding

1:07:08 ↗ park sign design process that is getting

1:07:10 ↗ kicked off again

1:07:13 ↗ we intend to bring that update to you as

1:07:16 ↗ the full park board

1:07:17 ↗ um in march at our at our march meeting

1:07:20 ↗ um as brad mentioned he as the park

1:07:22 ↗ chief board chair

1:07:23 ↗ serves on a a steering committee that

1:07:25 ↗ had begun work in 2019

1:07:28 ↗ kovid pushed a pretty big pause on that

1:07:31 ↗ effort

1:07:32 ↗ they met again this last month

1:07:36 ↗ that that effort is really a goal to

1:07:39 ↗ create a more standardized approach to

1:07:43 ↗ park signage facility signage trail

1:07:46 ↗ signage

1:07:46 ↗ way-finding signage within the city um

1:07:50 ↗ we're we'll be embarking on a public

1:07:53 ↗ engagement effort probably the spring

1:07:54 ↗ and summer

1:07:56 ↗ to really garner public feedback on some

1:07:58 ↗ concepts

1:08:00 ↗ uh the reality is um

1:08:03 ↗ this sign will probably be a a meshing

1:08:06 ↗ of of these concepts it's not meant to

1:08:09 ↗ be a sort of forced

1:08:10 ↗ choice it has to be one of these four so

1:08:13 ↗ um

1:08:14 ↗ again we'll have a little bit more um

1:08:16 ↗ time to focus

1:08:18 ↗ as an informational discussion with all

1:08:20 ↗ of you as as

1:08:21 ↗ park board members in march

1:08:24 ↗ we'll also have some ideas on what

1:08:26 ↗ public engagement

1:08:27 ↗ could look like later this spring and

1:08:29 ↗ summer on that effort so it'll be great

1:08:31 ↗ to get some of your feedback on that

1:08:34 ↗ next item the dog park tour just wanted

1:08:37 ↗ to let you all

1:08:38 ↗ know we made our first transition from

1:08:41 ↗ the field at pickering barn

1:08:44 ↗ on february 1st we closed that up and

1:08:48 ↗ the tour

1:08:49 ↗ moved to squawk valley park where

1:08:52 ↗ the dog park exists and will remain

1:08:54 ↗ until the end of may

1:08:58 ↗ likely next month too i'd love to have a

1:09:00 ↗ little bit more

1:09:01 ↗ information to share with you as i'm

1:09:03 ↗ getting feedback from the park

1:09:04 ↗ operations team as to

1:09:06 ↗ what uh sort of condition uh pickering

1:09:09 ↗ field was left with we did some uh what

1:09:12 ↗ i would call

1:09:12 ↗ aggressive top dressing with adding some

1:09:14 ↗ sand through

1:09:16 ↗ if you recall january was a pretty

1:09:18 ↗ historically wet

1:09:20 ↗ uh month um but how that field

1:09:23 ↗ um how that space bounces back will be

1:09:25 ↗ something we'll we're

1:09:26 ↗ already playing really close attention

1:09:28 ↗ to and i'll have a little bit more

1:09:30 ↗ information

1:09:31 ↗ to share with you in in march um now

1:09:34 ↗ that we've made that one change

1:09:36 ↗ buying the extra materials was really

1:09:38 ↗ helpful we were able to

1:09:39 ↗ set up the space at squawk before we

1:09:42 ↗ closed the space at pickering so

1:09:44 ↗ feedback we heard from the community was

1:09:46 ↗ really positive there

1:09:49 ↗ i was up um here at work over the

1:09:52 ↗ weekend and and going by on

1:09:54 ↗ on saturday um the squawk valley space

1:09:56 ↗ was really really well used it was great

1:09:59 ↗ great to see so the news is certainly

1:10:00 ↗ getting out and

1:10:02 ↗ we've gotten a lot of positive feedback

1:10:04 ↗ and appreciation from the

1:10:05 ↗ community on this interim effort

1:10:09 ↗ so more information coming your way on

1:10:11 ↗ that

1:10:13 ↗ third item programmatically i i

1:10:16 ↗ mentioned to you

1:10:17 ↗ last month as we've been navigating

1:10:20 ↗ covid recovery

1:10:21 ↗ we've been really getting creative with

1:10:24 ↗ our recreation facilities and programs

1:10:26 ↗ one area was our youth basketball

1:10:28 ↗ historically what's been a league i'm

1:10:31 ↗ happy to announce through a lot of great

1:10:33 ↗ work by jared

1:10:34 ↗ and lisa and brian and the community

1:10:36 ↗ center and athletics team

1:10:39 ↗ we started our youth basketball program

1:10:41 ↗ last saturday

1:10:43 ↗ putting students in safe pods with

1:10:46 ↗ volunteer coaches we have 650

1:10:49 ↗ young issaquah residents boys and girls

1:10:51 ↗ that are taking part in a modified youth

1:10:54 ↗ basketball program over the next

1:10:56 ↗ the next eight weeks so safety

1:11:00 ↗ is a high high priority for that program

1:11:03 ↗ but

1:11:04 ↗ certainly seeing the response from the

1:11:05 ↗ community and creating these safe

1:11:08 ↗ opportunities for

1:11:10 ↗ kids in our community to recreate um get

1:11:13 ↗ on the court

1:11:14 ↗ um have a chance to to socialize and and

1:11:17 ↗ be a part of something was

1:11:18 ↗ a high priority and so really applaud

1:11:21 ↗ the efforts of our recreation team

1:11:23 ↗ and making that a reality um

1:11:27 ↗ jeremy you have a question about that uh

1:11:30 ↗ not a question more of a comment um so

1:11:33 ↗ i'm one of those volunteers

1:11:35 ↗ uh that has been blessed with uh

1:11:37 ↗ coaching one of these teams

1:11:40 ↗ and first initial um

1:11:44 ↗ thoughts on it is it was pretty good

1:11:46 ↗ most the kids you know the kids i have

1:11:48 ↗ were all

1:11:49 ↗ eight nine year old third graders uh

1:11:52 ↗ they wore their masks didn't have any

1:11:54 ↗ issues with the masks and stuff the one

1:11:56 ↗ comment i did have was that the teams

1:11:57 ↗ are remarkably large

1:11:59 ↗ i have 20 kids on a basketball team it's

1:12:03 ↗ most i've ever had

1:12:04 ↗ so i you know that was uh

1:12:08 ↗ one issue and then um i was gonna send

1:12:10 ↗ out to jared

1:12:12 ↗ and we don't have the jerseys yet and

1:12:14 ↗ we're not supposed to be you know using

1:12:15 ↗ pennies and switching pennies in and out

1:12:17 ↗ because of the covet

1:12:18 ↗ same with those wristbands so whenever

1:12:19 ↗ we'd scrimmage kids didn't know who they

1:12:21 ↗ were

1:12:22 ↗ garden or anything so 20 kids it was

1:12:24 ↗ kind of tough but

1:12:25 ↗ other than that i think it you know went

1:12:27 ↗ pretty good they were there was a

1:12:29 ↗ person there at the door stopping

1:12:30 ↗ everybody doing their little uh

1:12:32 ↗ thermometer check

1:12:33 ↗ on the forehead going in um asking some

1:12:37 ↗ question like a questionnaire and then

1:12:38 ↗ we got enough space on the on the floor

1:12:39 ↗ so that wasn't an issue but

1:12:41 ↗ uh there will be some kinks we have to

1:12:42 ↗ work here for sure a lot of the kids

1:12:44 ↗ were a little disappointed that they

1:12:45 ↗ don't get to play other teams

1:12:46 ↗ but then when i told them you have as

1:12:48 ↗ many kids on this one team as

1:12:50 ↗ three or four other teams um you know

1:12:53 ↗ we told them we'd do some sort of game

1:12:54 ↗ type of thing

1:12:56 ↗ yeah well jeremy thank you so much for

1:12:58 ↗ for coaching and you're right the pods

1:13:01 ↗ were intended to be bigger

1:13:02 ↗ uh the idea is being able to have some

1:13:04 ↗ inner squad

1:13:05 ↗ uh play amongst those amongst those 20

1:13:08 ↗ kids i

1:13:09 ↗ i certainly hope there's some additional

1:13:10 ↗ volunteer coaches that are helping you

1:13:12 ↗ out

1:13:12 ↗ i i know that certainly was a a goal and

1:13:15 ↗ a need as well

1:13:16 ↗ but that's that's great feedback um make

1:13:19 ↗ sure we get that to jared as well

1:13:22 ↗ yeah i think we're just waiting for the

1:13:24 ↗ pen the jerseys i think once we have the

1:13:26 ↗ jerseys they'll be much more smooth you

1:13:27 ↗ know you can have them they're supposed

1:13:29 ↗ to be reversible so you can flip

1:13:30 ↗ the colors and whatnot so yep

1:13:36 ↗ the year of the year of covid the year

1:13:39 ↗ being nimble

1:13:40 ↗ certainly uh last item i i had was

1:13:44 ↗ just a follow-up on our turf replacement

1:13:46 ↗ project

1:13:47 ↗ at central park pad three thank you

1:13:48 ↗ again for your feedback

1:13:50 ↗ uh in the discussion we had last month

1:13:53 ↗ um i

1:13:55 ↗ took that information and provided an

1:13:57 ↗ update to city council

1:13:59 ↗ at the last council meeting on the 16th

1:14:03 ↗ um really good feedback from council in

1:14:05 ↗ terms of

1:14:06 ↗ uh the approach and the recommendation

1:14:08 ↗ that we took and

1:14:09 ↗ and pivoting to more of a natural infill

1:14:12 ↗ product that project approval

1:14:17 ↗ excuse me we'll be going to city council

1:14:20 ↗ next monday um not next monday the

1:14:22 ↗ following monday march 1st

1:14:25 ↗ um that is next monday march 1st

1:14:28 ↗ uh for approval and then we'll uh

1:14:31 ↗ get contracts set and get that get that

1:14:34 ↗ project scheduled uh later this year in

1:14:36 ↗ 2021

1:14:37 ↗ so again really appreciate the

1:14:39 ↗ discussion we had last month your your

1:14:42 ↗ feedback was very helpful in shaping

1:14:43 ↗ that project

1:14:46 ↗ that's the end of my report brad thank

1:14:47 ↗ you hey jeff

1:14:49 ↗ um is there going to be enough fencing

1:14:53 ↗ to set up uh at the community center uh

1:14:57 ↗ seamlessly

1:14:58 ↗ um or is there gonna be a break in may

1:15:02 ↗ for the dog park no same same thing

1:15:05 ↗ applies so we're able to hopscotch so we

1:15:07 ↗ will

1:15:08 ↗ end of may we will set up the

1:15:11 ↗ fourth dog park tour site at the

1:15:12 ↗ community center before we

1:15:15 ↗ close squat valley park

1:15:20 ↗ any other questions for jeff i

1:15:24 ↗ i just have a question about the dog

1:15:25 ↗ park so um curious if there have been

1:15:28 ↗ challenges or um kind of what

1:15:33 ↗ like initially are there any lessons

1:15:35 ↗ learned from the first go-around

1:15:40 ↗ uh boy um not an exhaustive list

1:15:44 ↗ no i i think recognition of

1:15:48 ↗ this dog park tour is not going to

1:15:50 ↗ alleviate all of

1:15:51 ↗ the off-leash dog needs in the community

1:15:54 ↗ right

1:15:55 ↗ i think it's confirmation of that

1:16:01 ↗ but yeah i think to go with the size and

1:16:05 ↗ scale of

1:16:06 ↗ of any of these interim parks uh

1:16:08 ↗ danielle i

1:16:09 ↗ i think it's recognition and

1:16:10 ↗ confirmation it's probably not meeting

1:16:12 ↗ the entire

1:16:13 ↗ community need um for a single space of

1:16:16 ↗ this size

1:16:17 ↗ you know less than an acre size

1:16:20 ↗ are they pretty is it pretty crowded

1:16:22 ↗ have they been

1:16:23 ↗ crowded or good question uh i

1:16:26 ↗ no you know i haven't been there at all

1:16:29 ↗ times but

1:16:29 ↗ certainly as i observed pickering i

1:16:31 ↗ think there was a you know that

1:16:33 ↗ size space which was the smallest of the

1:16:36 ↗ three

1:16:36 ↗ tour sites um probably

1:16:40 ↗ comfortably accommodated i'd say upwards

1:16:42 ↗ of a dozen dogs

1:16:44 ↗ um and owners um if it got any

1:16:48 ↗ more than that it probably started to

1:16:49 ↗ feel a bit crowded

1:16:51 ↗ uh squawk is a little bigger space um

1:16:54 ↗ again i i you know when i went by on

1:16:57 ↗ saturday i would say there were probably

1:16:58 ↗ 15

1:16:59 ↗ plus dogs out there

1:17:02 ↗ very comfortably spaced okay

1:17:07 ↗ um and then i'll just echo like i'm so

1:17:10 ↗ glad you guys are starting the

1:17:11 ↗ basketball

1:17:12 ↗ um my kids have outgrown outgrown that

1:17:15 ↗ stage but um

1:17:16 ↗ you know anything that we can do to

1:17:20 ↗ provide an opportunity for kids to

1:17:23 ↗ recreate and socialize it is desperately

1:17:25 ↗ needed in this community

1:17:27 ↗ so thank you

1:17:31 ↗ in reference to the dog park i think

1:17:33 ↗ it's going to be good here

1:17:35 ↗ somewhat maybe towards the end of the

1:17:36 ↗ year after the third phase of this

1:17:39 ↗ uh to start getting some feedback from

1:17:41 ↗ the people um

1:17:43 ↗ you know to help us you know with you

1:17:45 ↗ know some of the issues that we

1:17:47 ↗ had any concerns with for the permanent

1:17:49 ↗ dog park so at some point

1:17:51 ↗ you know be nice to put out a survey to

1:17:53 ↗ those people or know who it is that's

1:17:56 ↗ you know that that used it and

1:17:59 ↗ what they liked what they didn't like

1:18:00 ↗ you know the more we can get

1:18:02 ↗ you know the better agreed

1:18:05 ↗ and also along those lines people's

1:18:07 ↗ memories are short sometimes so

1:18:10 ↗ it might be nice like you know now and

1:18:12 ↗ maybe you've already done this but

1:18:13 ↗ now that you've transitioned from

1:18:16 ↗ picture into a squawk to ask people

1:18:18 ↗ what their thoughts were on pickering um

1:18:21 ↗ you know and then kind of each time

1:18:23 ↗ right and so like as you go later you'll

1:18:25 ↗ get people comparing

1:18:26 ↗ them to the different ones but you don't

1:18:28 ↗ want to lose that

1:18:29 ↗ input on on pickering right if we wait

1:18:32 ↗ for a couple

1:18:33 ↗ sessions and you might only get people

1:18:35 ↗ talking about

1:18:37 ↗ the community center one agreed

1:18:43 ↗ uh hey ryan looks like you're up

1:18:47 ↗ all right well um since last park board

1:18:50 ↗ meeting the advisory board has met

1:18:52 ↗ twice both of those meetings uh were

1:18:55 ↗ primarily work meetings we have

1:18:57 ↗ 10 different groups that work on

1:18:58 ↗ different types of projects and usually

1:19:00 ↗ they meet outside our scheduled meetings

1:19:02 ↗ but since people have been pretty busy

1:19:03 ↗ in january with finals

1:19:05 ↗ we decided we wanted those meetings just

1:19:07 ↗ to work on our different projects

1:19:10 ↗ in terms of events one group put on a

1:19:12 ↗ valentine's day craft sort of thing

1:19:14 ↗ over zoom it was sort of a teaching

1:19:17 ↗ thing they taught the kids how to make

1:19:18 ↗ crafts

1:19:20 ↗ and that was in earlier february um

1:19:24 ↗ and other than that we have a meeting

1:19:25 ↗ tomorrow that's going to be another work

1:19:27 ↗ meeting

1:19:28 ↗ um since people were sort of off on

1:19:31 ↗ break not really working on staff

1:19:32 ↗ relaxing

1:19:34 ↗ um and beyond that we plan to have more

1:19:36 ↗ events in march and april

1:19:40 ↗ great thanks for that and thank you for

1:19:42 ↗ joining us to

1:19:43 ↗ inform us about that appreciate that

1:19:45 ↗ greatly

1:19:48 ↗ uh jeff you got anything from the mayor

1:19:54 ↗ uh nothing new other than again a big

1:19:58 ↗ thank you

1:19:58 ↗ i know as we forwarded the central park

1:20:00 ↗ turf project to council

1:20:02 ↗ she too was very appreciative of the

1:20:05 ↗ discussion we had at our last park board

1:20:06 ↗ meeting so

1:20:08 ↗ on behalf of the mayor big thanks

1:20:13 ↗ anybody else have any other

1:20:16 ↗ business or announcements

1:20:22 ↗ looks like uh we're winding down to

1:20:24 ↗ closure here so

1:20:26 ↗ uh thanks everybody for um making it

1:20:29 ↗ tonight

1:20:30 ↗ and uh keep yourself safe and uh

1:20:33 ↗ we'll do this again next month so

1:20:36 ↗ with that meeting is adjourned have a

1:20:39 ↗ good evening

1:20:41 ↗ thanks so much thanks everyone good

1:20:42 ↗ night everybody

Approved minutes

Extracted from the next meeting's packet, where this meeting's minutes were approved as a consent-calendar attachment.

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Attendance

Council / Members (7)

Bradley Book

Ruben Nieto

Jonathan Richardson

Chris Kovac

Jeremy Noble

Danielle Wolfrom Githens

Ryan Reamy

Staff (2)

Brian Berntsen

Jeff Watling

Excused

Linda Whitworth

Carl Riess

Apryle Craig

Marlene Waxse

Recommendations & actions (2)

Sentences extracted from the narrative containing words like recommended, requested, directed, moved, or approved. Best-effort — verify against the full minutes for context.

a) Minutes of January 25, 2021 IT WAS MOVED BY BOOK TO: Approve the minutes of January 25,
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